1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed embodiments generally relate to techniques for searching through data. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to the design of a system that facilitates executing conceptual queries that search through data using qualitative search terms, such as “short” and “tall.”
2. Related Art
Humans typically think about physical parameters using qualitative concepts, such as “fast” or “slow,” instead of a precise numerical value, such as “25.6 miles per hour.” As a consequence, when analysts search through data, they are typically interested in identifying data items that satisfy qualitative criteria. For example, an analyst may want to identify servers having an “unusually long response time.” In existing query-processing systems, an analyst typically translates qualitative criteria into corresponding numerical values before performing a search. This process is both time-consuming and problematic because the numerical values for specific qualitative search criteria can vary considerably among different contexts. For example, the definition of an “unusually long response time” for a computer server is likely to be different during a peak-usage time in the middle of the day in comparison to a low-usage time in the middle of the night. Also, the definition of a specific qualitative search criterion can vary among different users and different contexts.
Hence, what is needed is a system that facilitates performing searches based on qualitative search criteria that can vary among different usage contexts.